Hunters Quay: A Journey

You can’t turn back the clock, but you can combine the best from our more natural past with modern technology to shape the future.

Its also clear that the best way forward to a sustainable future; combines a careful choice of old and new.

In 1 May 1707 Scotland joined in a political union with the Kingdom of England to create a United Kingdom of Great Britain. The Kingdom of Scotland was an independent state from 843 until 1707.

Many Scots still write “Scottish”, and not “British”, in passports and hotel guest-register books.

In 1894 the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, established the international rules of golf which are still updated and amended here in agreement with the United State Golf Association. It was at St. Andrews that the prototype of what subsequently became the conventional 18-hole course was first laid out: a 9-hole course played in reverse on the return journey. Practised in Scotland since 1457, golf steadily gained in popularity; during the reign of James II it was banned as a distraction from the noble sport of archery. 

 

Did you know that Aberdeenshire alone had no less than three universities towards the close of the 16^th century? There was one at Fraserburgh, plus King’s and Marischal Colleges in Aberdeen itself. This was at a time when the whole of England had only two universities, namely Oxford and Cambridge.

Scotland’s Censuses have been taken once every ten years since 1801 except 1941, due to the Second World War. The earliest Scottish census of all was compiled by the ministers of each parish in 1755 at the behest of Alexander Webster, a Presbyterian minister in Edinburgh. They submitted numbers; but not names of the Catholics and Protestants in each parish.  

The Scots have always been adventurers. Soldiers and merchants travelled in Europe from the very early days of the Scots nation. Then, when ships became large enough to undertake longer voyages, Scots left their homeland and became entrepreneurs and explorers, as well as simply colonists, all over the globe…

Down through the ages, the Scots have been providers of useful and influential historic breakthroughs. As a nation of inventors (penicillin, television, chloroform, the steam engine, logarithms, etc to name a few) we have given the world major practical creations.  

                       Dinna remove ancient landmarks fae oor fathers.

                           A wee keek back keeps ye on the right path.

                                   Read old books fae folks long awa'.

wildcats are the UK ’s only native cat species and they were once widespread throughout the British Isles. Now found only in remote areas of Scotland, there are an estimated 400 left in the wild, making it one of our most endangered mammals. (The survey is being run by Cairngormas National Park).

The south of Scotland is one of the few areas in which red squirrels still survive. To try to stop grey squirrels getting into this red squirrel stronghold, the organization Red Squirrels in South Scotland has been creating safe havens in the area’s woodlands. The initiative has involved the monitoring of grey squirrels encroaching on the area. It’s well known that the greys  push out the reds as they compete aggressively for food, and there is the more urgent threat that greys carry a pox virus which is fatal to reds. (Scottish Field June 2008).

 In 1848 Sir James Clark, Queen Victoria’s personal physician, had recommended the dry air of the Scottish mountains as a remedy for the rheumatism which already afflicted the young queen. 

Did you know that the first qualified doctors in the English-speaking world appeared in the early 16^th century from Aberdeen University?

In 1566, Mary Queen of Scots gave birth to James VI, who came to unite the two countries

  – England and Scotland -

Black was a very common wedding dress colour in the past. Jean Armour wore a black silk dress to marry national bard Robert burns in 1778.

The Scottish King James IV, who was crowned at scone in 1488, spoke eight languages fluently, namely English, Gaelic, Latin, French, German, Flemish, Italian, and Spanish. He was also the last monarch to speak Gaelic. 

The first Gaelic Translations of the Bible were instigated at Carnasserie by Bishop Carswell. The language Struggles to survive in Mid Argyll.

The oldest football ever found, dating to the 1540s, was discovered in Stirling Castle in the rafters of a bedroom that once belonged to Mary, Queen of Scots.

It is a remarkable fact that Argyll, in which Cowal lies, actually has a longer coastline than the whole of France; such are its twists and turns, its inlets and its lochs.

Henry Campbell-Bannerman, the Liberal MP for Stirling, was the first prime minister to take that title, in 1905. Previous incumbents were known ad first Lord of the Treasury.

The Church of the Holy Rude, in Stirling, is the only church still in use today other than Westminster Abbey to have been the site of a coronation (James VI in 1567).

Did you know that the first book to have been printed in Scotland, a work by Chaucer, went on sale on April 4, 1508?

When passports were first introduced?

The first passports were medieval documents that allowed the holder to pass the “Porte”, or gate, of a city. The first ruler to issue a pass Porte was King Henry V of England. Pass Porte’s continued to be issued in small numbers by rulers over the following centuries. During the First World War, countries imposed border controls, and Passports were issued to allow travellers access through these borders 

The firing of the one o’clock gun from the ramparts of Edinburgh Castle originated from a request by the Leith Dock Commission in 1861 to locate a time ball on top of the Nelson Monument (which was visible from the docks). Punctually every day since then (except in wartimes and on Sundays) an audible signal has boomed out across the city and simultaneously the time ball has dropped down its pole on the monument, enabling mariners of old to check their chronometers and nowadays making tourists jump visibly as they stroll along Princes Street al lunchtime.  

The First Lone Piper for the Edinburgh Tattoo, Major George Stoddart, played in every performance for the first 11 years. The first overseas performers were the Band of the Royal Netherlands Grenadiers, the 1^st Canadian Highland pipe Band and La Grande republicaine a Cheval, from France, and took part in the 1952 Tattoo. Edinburgh Tattoo takes its name from the Cry of inn-keepers in Belgium and the Netherlands over 300 years ago. They ordered “doe den tap toe”; (Turn off the Taps) when the local regiment marched through the streets signalling the soldiers to return to barracks.

In 1766 a competition to design the New Town was won by James Craig, a 22-year-old architect. Edinburgh New Town was an 18^th century solution to the problem of an increasingly crowded Old Town. The plan that was built created a rigid, ordered grid, which fitted well with enlightenment ideas of rationality. From the air it is easy to see why it earned the nickname “The Athens of the North”.

One of the greatest joys for any Scot is to share with the world our nation’s beauty and diversity. Scotland is a nation with its feet firmly planted in Europe, but with its mind open to the world.                              

     Alex Salmond / Scottish National Party / first elected as a member of parliament in 1987

In 1928 the forerunner of what became the Scottish National Party (SNP) was formed. In 1974, campaigning with the slogan ‘It’s Scotland’s Oil’, a reference to the rich North Sea finds, it saw support translated into 11 seats – a high point – though this figure was reduce to three during the 1980s.

His sister Margaret is three years older, and Gail and Bob are 10 years younger. All lived downstairs of a three bedroom House; while Alexander’s aunt and uncle had the upstairs.

The young Alex has suffered from serious asthma throughout his childhood, and despite his asthma he played football for Heart of Midlothian FC. At the age of five he got a cairn terrier and called him Shadow.

During the Seventies, Alexander Salmon joined the SNP and became a member of the radical 79 Group, then went on to join the Scottish Office as a junior economist and an MP during the Eighties; he became leader of the SNP in 1990, winning a contest against Margaret Ewing, when Gordon Wilson stood down.

We’re not really a small country, we have a mere 5 people birling around a landmass not much smaller than the space England shoe-horns 50 million into. If we ironed out our crinkly west coast, it would stretch a few thousand miles. We count castles and islands in hundreds, revenue from oil and whisky in billions – though most is pumped straight past us. Mean we certainly aren’t; there is genuine warmth in that gentle Scottish greeting, Come awa’ in.’

                 Dorothy-Grace Elder.

Did you know that the first Italians to settle in Scotland were from the Crociari region in southern Lazio and they sold -Guess what..... " Ice Cream!"  

Scottish forests and their trees have been rooted in the history of the country throughout the ages. Did you know that the 5,000-year-old Fortingall yew, for example, is said to be the oldest living thing in Europe, dating back to a time before Christianity!

Mary Queen of Scots planted an ancient hawthorn which still grows at St Mary’s College at St Andrews University.

During the Great War, the slang term that British Soldiers used for cigarettes was “Coffin Nails”.

A Black House was the English name for a Tigh Dabh, a traditional dry stonewalled thatched dwelling once common in the Scottish Highlands and Islands 

Did you know that the world-famous building “The White House” was burned by the British in 1814?

The number of centenarians living in Scotland has reached a record high, according to figures released recently.

The register General estimated that there were 710 people aged 100 or over in the country last year, up from just 560 in 2002.

The overwhelming number of Centenarians were female, the figures showed, with women accounting for nearly 90 per cent of all those living into an 11^th decade.

On 24 June 1314, Robert the Bruce exacts a humiliating defeat on the English army of Edward II at the Battle of Bannockburn, an act that eventually led to Scotland‘s independence from England. 

 

Did you know that the Bank of England was founded by Scotsman William Paterson who proposed a loan of 1.2 millions to the government?

The introduction of paper money:

John Law (1671-1729), was a great Scottish innovator. He is widely credited as having introduced paper money to the French economy. In 1700 (or thereabouts) he put his proposals to the Scottish parliament, but perhaps his ideas were too radical for the financial brains of the times. Law’s proposals were rejected, but before he left Scotland he published his book, Money and Trade considered, with a Proposal for Supplying the Nation with Money (1705).  Law’s ideas – that the French economy would be turned around through increased credit and the introduction of paper money – were understandably appealing to the beleaguered French duke, and in 1716 the Banque Gẻnẻrale was created. Laws bank was a great success. The capital was divided into shares, with banknotes promising to pay the bearer the value specified on the date of issue. By 1717 the banknotes were accepted as a means of paying taxes, and the following year Law’s bank became the Banque Royale, the notes now guaranteed by the King.

Brits are often labelled as a nation of dog-lovers. Yet in the past 30 years the number of domestic cats kept as pets has doubled.

William Wallace’s most famous victory was at the Battle of Stirling Bridge in 1297, where, within sight of the

, Wallace’s men fell upon and defeated the opposing forces while they attempted to cross the narrow bridge.

Robert Bruce came from an old Norman family (de Brus refers to a Normandy place-name, and is often anglicised as the Bruce), and, like other Scots nobles, he played his part in the complex politics of English court life. His grandfather had been one of the original 13 claimants to the Scottish throne. He was crowned King of Scotland in 1307 and initiated a seven-year military campaign, which ended at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314 with a Scots victory. Thereafter, though Scotland and England were certainly not at peace, Scotland won almost 400 years of independence.

Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-87) was queen for only seven years but played her part in a large-scale drama involving the royal houses of Scotland, France and England. Since her death more than 400 years ago, she has become perhaps the best-known figure in Scotland’s history. Mary’s father, King James V, died a week after hearing of his daughter’s birth.

Scots played an important role in the movement for the Slave trade’s abolition. Soon after the founding of the Society of the Abolition of Slavery in London in 1787, Scottish committees were being formed and Scots were campaigning hard for the end of slavery. Part of that campaign involved inviting a freed slave, Olaudah Equiano, to come to Scotland and address public meetings during the course of several weeks in 1792.  

During World War II, the Clyde still had the capacity to build 2,000 ships, repair more than 23,000 and convert hundreds more. To put it another way, the workforce built or repaired 13 ships every day for five years.

One of the earliest designs for a gas mask was invented by John Stenhouse, a scientist from Glasgow. He created a prototype protective breathing mask which contained powdered wood charcoal, sandwiched between two hemispheres of wire gauze.

Throughout the World War Two, the authorities emphasised the need for members of the public to keep information to themselves for fear of conversations being overheard by enemy spies. Posters such as this one were displayed on billboards in public areas such as underground stations and bus stops as a constant reminder to be vigilant.

In 1941, The Little Less gave its readers four ways to save gas:

1: Turn down the gas fire as soon as the room is warm enough. A smaller fire will keep it warm.

2: Never put quart of water in the kettle when you need only a pint; never let the gas flare up round the sides of the kettle or saucepan.

3: Keep your cooker clean and your utensils clean. Dirt wastes gas.

4: Use less water in the bath. You will save both gas and water (water needs fuel to pump it at the waterworks.

The Second War of Independence was launched with an invasion by the Disinherited, those barons who had their Scottish lands forfeited following the Treaty of Edinburgh of 1328 when the English government acknowledged the independence of Scotland and Robert Bruce as its King. He died the following year and in the hiatus of power that followed, the Disinherited saw their chance to remove his infant son, David, from the throne and install Edward, the son of John Balliol, in his place.

In spring of 1336, the Scots were in control of the country north of the Forth, by summer their forces were raiding into England. Edward, was in France in the initial stages of the 100 Years War, sent an army north, but it achieved nothing and withdrew. In 1339 Baliol’s forces Surrendered. The Treaty of Berwick in 1357 officially ended the war. The Scots had to pay a ransom of 100,000 merks, payable over ten years. Two instalments were handed out before the country ran out of money. A reduction was negotiated and the two countries remained at peace.

Kinnaird Head was Scotland’s first working lighthouse. Some of the folklore associated with the site, including the famous tale of the piper who drowned in the Wine Tower after being imprisoned by a lord who was angry at him for falling in love with his daughter. Legend has it that the piper can still be heard playing his pipes while he searches for his lost love. The north-east of Scotland has a strong maritime tradition and Kinnaird Head is an important part of region’s heritage. (Address: Kinnaird Head, Stevenson road, Fraserburgh B43 9DU

In 1940, the government had appealed to the nation’s housewives to g5ive up their aluminium pots and pans to be made into Spitfires, although in fact the metal was too poor-grade to be used as such. Still, the morale-boosting effect of the exercise was huge; people felt that they were doing something to hit back and it was not unknown for better-off people to buy new aluminium saucepans to give to the collections.

In 1942, it was suggested that a way of saving gas in cooking is to take a fairly large biscuit tin, or old cake tin. Cut off the bottom, stand this over the gas and put your saucepan inside; the space between the ring and the saucepan will collect surplus gas and heat; and a saving of one-third of the gas usually burned can be effected,

On 4 October, 1941, Scotland faced England in an international match at Wembley Stadium watched by a crowed of 65,000. The Scotland team, which included Bill Shankly, Stanley Williams and Jimmy Carabine, was defeated 2-0, followed by a 3-0 defeat in January of 1942. However, three months later, the two teams met again at Hampden Park where Scotland fans were treated to a thrilling 5-4 win over England.

In March 1952, Scotland’s first TV programme was broadcast to celebrate the opening of kirk O’Shotts station in Lanarkshire. Mary Malcolm and Alastair Macintyre were the announcers on the programme, which was broadcast from Studio 1 in Broadcasting House, Edinburgh, and featured the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society performing the Duke of Edinburgh Reel.

Did you know that Prestwick Airport is reputed to be the only British soil on which Elvis Presley ever stood? It was on March 3^rd, 1960, the United States Army transport plane carrying him home from Germany, stopped to refuel at the airport. A lounge was named after Presley and a plaque erected in 2006.

The first mill in Scotland were probably “Norse Mills” also known as (Greek Mills), such mills were in use over 2000 years ago, their simple design being easy to construct, however, the more efficient was the breastshot design, where water was introduced via a narrowing mill lade to fill on to the blade of the wheel at axle level. This proved twice as efficient as the undershot wheel, but it was the overshot wheel, where water was introduced at the top of the wheel, which drove the majority of later mills, and the water powered manufactories’ of the Industrial Revolution.

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